GUILTY TN - James & Christie Osborne for child abuse, Lebanon, 2004

After deliberating for nearly five hours Monday, a jury convicted James C. Osborne III and Christine H. Osborne of attempted aggravated child abuse and neglect, but found them both not guilty of the original charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect the state had been seeking against the Lebanon couple.
The Class C felony convictions carry three-to-six-year jail sentences. A sentencing hearing for the pair will be set today...

A day after the boy was removed from the couple's home on Sept. 21, 2004, Vanderbilt Children's Hospital physicians diagnosed him as severely malnourished and at a "substantial risk" of death.

But prosecutors and defense attorneys argued for days about whether or not the child's physical state was the result of the Osbornes' actions, a pre-existing heart condition or a medical reaction to the vast amount of food he was given at University Medical Center the day he was taken into custody by the state Department of Children's Services.

Attorneys also jarred over whether or not the physical restraints the child was placed in were an act of intentional abuse – as the state held – or a justified reaction by parents who did not otherwise know how to care for a child who constantly snuck out of the house to steal food, and who admitted to often wanting to kill his stepmother with a kitchen knife.

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"I feel safe," said Joshua Osborne, a 17-year-old abuse survivor who received his "adoption" certificate from [Bikers Against Child Abuse] on Sunday...

Throughout the ordeal, BACA members escorted the family to the courthouse, sat in court with them through every hearing and escorted them home. Joshua – or "Journey," as BACA members nicknamed him – is now enjoying his senior year of high school and looking forward to prom.

"Safety is the big word," said Tammy Dozier, Joshua's aunt, with whom he now lives. "I feel like if I ever had a problem in the middle of the night, I could call BACA, and they would be there in a heartbeat."

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The defendant, James C. Osborne, III, was convicted of attempted aggravated child neglect, a Class C felony, and child neglect, a Class A misdemeanor, by a Wilson County Criminal Court jury.

The defendant was sentenced to six years in the Department of Correction as a Range I, standard offender for the felony conviction and eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail for the misdemeanor conviction. The sentences were imposed consecutively. In this appeal, the defendant challenges the length of the effective six-year, eleven month, and twenty-nine day sentence. We hold that the trial court arrived at the proper sentences and affirm its judgments.

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The victim had health concerns because he received a heart
transplant as an infant, which required that he take immunosuppressive medications. He was on a low sodium diet.

The victim also had serious dental issues which required extensive dental work under general anesthesia after the crimes were discovered. There was evidence that the victim was not allowed by Ms. Osborne to eat the same foods as the other members of the family and that the victim was given soup and water as his primary means of nourishment, although there was also evidence that the victim was allowed at times to have other foods. There was evidence that Mrs. Osborne limited the victim’s diet to soup because of his poor dental health. When the authorities went to the Osborne home, there was plenty of food in the home, and no one else in the family, including the three other children, appeared malnourished. The victim’s diet was a source of contention between the defendant and Mrs. Osborne, and the defendant sometimes provided food to the victim in a clandestine manner in order to avoid conflict with Mrs. Osborne. Mrs. Osborne took the victim to his doctor appointments and communicated with school personnel about the victim. The victim’s school attendance was sporadic, and he had never returned to school following a suspension.

On several occasions, the victim left the house in the middle of the night and went to
WalMart, where he stole food and other items. After this behavior continued despite Mrs. Osborne sleeping by the door, Mrs. Osborne and the defendant began chaining the defendant to the bed frame to restrain him. This would confine the victim to the wood floor next to the bed for long periods of time. Sometimes the victim was clothed only in a “pullup” diaper. Mrs. Osborne was usually the one who chained the victim, although the defendant bought the chains, had a key to the locks on the chain, and would sometimes release the victim to go to the bathroom and then reapply the chain.

The victim was not always allowed to go to the bathroom when he was chained, and at times he would urinate or soil himself and be left in that condition for long periods of time. The victim was sometimes given a “kindergarten mat” on which to sleep on the floor, and he was not the only child who regularly slept on the floor in the two-bedroom home. The mat was taken from the victim as punishment if he urinated or soiled himself. Mrs. Osborne sometimes gave the victim very hot or very cold showers when he had “accidents” and then required him to stand naked in front of an air conditioner for thirty to forty-five minutes. Mrs. Osborne also hit the victim at times.

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The defendant, Christine Osborne, was convicted of attempted aggravated child neglect, a Class C felony, by a Wilson County Criminal Court jury.

offender. In this appeal, the defendant challenges the sentence imposed. We hold that the
trial court erred in sentencing the defendant, and pursuant to Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), we modify the defendant’s sentence to a term of three years and six months.

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The defendant was tried with her husband, James C. Osborne, III, relative to their conduct
toward the defendant’s mentally retarded stepson, who is Mr. Osborne’s son. The evidence showed
that the victim, who was fifteen years old at the time of the offenses, was chained to a bed in the
home in which he lived with the defendants for long periods of time. The victim was also
malnourished, weighing in the range of forty-nine to sixty pounds and measuring fifty-three inches
tall. The victim’s mistreatment came to light when the defendant’s sister, who had recently been
living in the Osborne home with her boyfriend and five children, reported the conditions to the
Department of Children’s Services...

The victim had some behavioral issues. There was evidence that the victim had hidden a kitchen knife and wanted to kill the defendant and Mr. Osborne. On one occasion, the defendant had awakened to find him standing over her with a knife. The victim had exhibited other troubling behavior in the past, including stealing, throwing a toddler, and drowning a kitten, although the victim claimed the drowning was accidental. Despite these challenges, the defendant did not want to have the victim removed from the home because the family would no longer receive his Social Security check.

The evidence against the defendant and Mr. Osborne was provided by law enforcement officers, Department of Children’s Services and school officials, the victim’s physicians, the victim, and the defendant’s sister. Neither the defendant nor Mr. Osborne testified, although both made statements to the police.

Mr. Osborne said that the defendant told him that a law enforcement officer, a teacher, and friends had all told her that it was acceptable to chain the victim at night. Mr. Osborne admitted in his statement that the defendant had been chaining the victim to the bed and had not been feeding the victim properly. Mr. Osborne told the authorities that he acquiesced in the victim being chained and underfed to avoid conflict with the defendant. He admitted he had seen the defendant physically abuse the victim. The defendant told the authorities that the victim had been causing trouble recently and was “driving her crazy.” She denied, however, that she had chained him to the bed. She admitted that he was primarily fed soup and said he had dietary restrictions for sodium and sweets. When the defendant was arrested, she had a key to the lock that was used to chain the victim on a key ring in her purse.

The defense attempted to portray the defendant and Mr. Osborne as concerned, albeit misguided, parents who had done the best they could in a challenging situation. There was evidence that the defendant took the victim to medical appointments, gave him his medications, and communicated frequently with school personnel about him. There was evidence that the defendant had expressed concern to a physician about the victim’s poor growth and that it was not unusual for pediatric heart transplant recipients to be smaller than their peers.

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A teenager whose father and stepmother chained him to a bed and starved him will testify before the Tennessee General Assembly in an effort to get child abuse laws reformed...

Now 18, Joshua Oborne will testify in January and ask lawmaker to extend the statute of limitations on child abuse cases, protect children from testifying against caregivers in court, eliminate the "first-time offenders" text in the law and make the torture he endured at least a Class C felony.

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A mysterious letter to the Wilson County Jail has prompted officials to request a couple charged in a high-profile child abuse case be moved to another facility.

The letter contained not only implied threats toward James Osborne III, 42, and Christie Osborne, 28, but also comments directed toward "certain public officials,"...

The case generated considerable publicity in the area with a juvenile court judge imposing a gag order on those involved in a custody hearing for the youth and three siblings, all of whom are now believed to be in the state Department of Children's Services' custody.

Publicity was heightened when questions arose about how DCS handled the case. Officials of the agency have defended their actions, saying they could substantiate no claims of abuse against the teen during investigations of the home prior to the couple's arrest...

The letter comes on top of "constant innuendoes, remarks and comments" made by other inmates about the couple, the sheriff said. "We've done our best to keep them absolutely isolated from the general population just for their own safety."

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Joshua Osborne, called one of the city’s “most inspiring residents,” died early Wednesday morning at the age of 24.

Osborne was found by law enforcement officials in Wilson County chained to his bed at age 14, weighing just 49 pounds. With some help from his aunt, Tammy Dozier, the young man circulated a petition to strengthen child-abuse laws.

In 2008, Gov. Phil Bredesen signed the Joshua Osborne Law into effect, adding starvation and dehydration to the list of child-abuse charges..

Osborne’s father and stepmother, James Osborne III and Christie Osborne, were sentenced to six years in jail on attempted aggravated child neglect. James Osborne III was given an additional 11 months, 29 days in jail for failing to protect Joshua from harm. Christie Osborne was released in 2008, while James Osborne III was released in 2010...

At just 2 weeks old, Osborne underwent a heart transplant...

He had been ill most of his life, but a week after his high school graduation, both of Osborne’s kidneys failed, requiring him to undergo dialysis.

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Osborne, who was found chained to a bed in his Lebanon home and starved to just 49 pounds at 14, moved to La Vergne to live with a family member after his rescue...

“The entire Goodwill family is saddened by the loss of Mr. Josh Osborne. He dedicated seven years of his life to Goodwill, and we are so grateful for his service,” said a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee.

“We will always remember Josh’s smile and positive attitude. He loved his Goodwill family, and we loved him. The quality of Josh’s work and his team spirit makes him irreplaceable. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all those who knew and loved this remarkable young man,” said Mt. View Store Manager Angeline Bevins in a statement.

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Arielle said:

49 pounds? My four year old weighs 45! That is horrible!!! And yet there were 3 other children that were just fine. I don't get how parents can think that one child is so "bad" that they must be punished in such dramatic ways, yet they take "good" care of other children in the house. Like the girl in the closet in Dallas, and many other cases. I just don't get it.

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